The invention relates, in general, to a combination of an infusion pump with an infusion tube set wherein a tube is guided through a tube clamp for selectively closing and opening of tubes, for example infusion tubes, and in particular to a tube clamp essentially shaped as a shackle of U-shaped configuration with rigid legs, whose inner surface have projections configured with cooperating pinching edges and a flexible web by means of which the legs may be spread apart into a diverging position; with the first leg terminating in a flexible deflectable spring latch configured to point in a direction of the second leg and formed with an inner ledge surface for engagement of a free end of the second leg when the legs are squeezed together, and wherein the web and the spring latch are provided with openings for guiding the infusion tube therethrough.
The invention relates also to an infusion pump with a door that can be locked and unlocked for selective insertion and removal of a tube which has been placed in the tube clamp, and wherein the tube clamp can be selectively opened or locked, or respectively may be engaged in a locked position.
The invention also relates to an infusion tube set with a tube guided through the tube clamp for selectively opening and closing the tube.
A tube clamp of the type as described in the foregoing paragraphs is for example known from EP 0637 456 A1. In an open position, such tube clamps are resting loosely at the tube, thereby not obstructing the flow in the tube. When the legs of the clamp are pressed together until the spring latch engages, the clamp retains the locked position, in which the tube is being firmly pinched together. The locked position is easily unlocked with one hand, whereby the spring latch with the cam for engagement outside is bent back, thereby releasing the leg that has been locked in.
Tube clamps of this type are used also in infusion sets as afore-described.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,116, a device is known for use in a medical application where removal of a tube, especially a fast removal of the device from the patient can be realized, for example during an earthquake or in a fire. By means of the device, a medical tube, which is connected to the patient, can be pinched-off at two points, so that the tube can be cut between the two pinch-off points.
In EP 0767 691 B1 an infusion set is described, showing slidable locking means, which are disposed with an opening for the tube. It is provided that, in a first position, the tube is guided through an area of the opening with sufficiently large dimension so as to allow the flow of the infusion matter through the tube, and in a second position the tube penetrates through an area of the opening with dimension substantially smaller than the tube diameter, so that the tube is thereby closed in liquid tight manner. A latch and an engaging hook are provided, which are disposed in such a manner, that the locking means are sliding from the first to the second position when opening the infusion set and upon closing it, from the second to the first position.
A drawback of this embodiment is that the tube and the locking means are moving relative to one another, which can lead to an unwanted jamming of the tube. In addition, there is the drawback that this relative movement causes wear and tear on the tube.